BIO:
He is the author of several books and articles on dozens of topics spanning Christianity and worship, as well as a traveling speaker and co-writer of many contemporary worship songs. He has collaborated with the musical likes of Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman in writing acclaimed worship hits such as "How Great Is Our God", "Indescribable" and countless others. His life and testimony are impacting people in ways far greater than he himself will ever know.
Louie (or Lou) Giglio was raised in a Christian home in Atlanta, Georgia, where he also attended college at Georgia State University. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louie_Giglio) It was during his freshman year, 1977, at two o'clock in the morning, that he accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior and opted not to engage in the party lifestyle that seemed to attract so many of his classmates. His concern for young students making ungodly choices would eventually shape his career: his passion for developing a modern worship style geared toward the younger generation.
Soon after he graduated from GSU, Lou earned a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth Texas. (http://www.swbts.edu) He and his wife Shelly began Choice Ministries, a weekly Bible study that met at Baylor University. After years of meetings and devoted service from Lou, his wife and several other students, over ten percent of the student body was attending the Bible study. Lou went on to pursue a Doctor of Ministry at Grace Theological Seminary. (www.grace.edu)
In 1995, the failing health of Louie's father forced he and Shelly to move from their home in Waco, TX to Atlanta, GA, where they could better care for him. During the flight from Texas to Georgia, Lou remembers praying, seeking God on his desire to start a national gathering for Christian college students across the U.S.: an event where these students could unite in worship and hear Biblical sermons. This desire would eventually evolve into the now globally renowned Passion Conferences. (www.268generation.com) In a 2005 interview with Christian Music Today, Lou was asked, "What prompted you to start Passion?" He responded quite honestly by answering, "The death of my father. That seems like a strange starting point, but from '85 to '95, my wife Shelly and I led a campus ministry at Baylor University in Texas. In a few years, in a campus of 11,000, there were 1400 of them coming to these weekly Bible studies." (www.christianitytoday.com)
Lou's father had been disabled with a horrible brain virus, one which left him unable to care for himself or perform daily tasks. Lou's dad would tragically pass away on the last Monday of the Bible study, after Lou had prayed and asked God, "Lord, let me go to Atlanta to help my mom and take care of my dad." Ironically, he died of a heart attack, completely unrelated to his brain virus. Lou quickly set things in motion for his staff to handle the Bible study and left with Shelly to tend to his family, where the vision for Passion would occur during the flight.
After grieving the loss of his father, Louie moved forward with a new vision for Passion Ministries, deciding to make Atlanta, GA the base of the conferences. Louie told Christianity Today, "The picture was God saying, 'This is what I am going to do, Louie. And I'm going to use you in it because right now I need a guy who doesn't have a job, who doesn't have a ministry. And you're the guy right now." (www.christianitytoday.com) He would keep his idea for Passion a secret for over three months, save for telling his wife Shelly and a couple close friends. Eventually the word got out and people began asking him where to start, desiring to help in his endeavor. According to Lou, word of mouth was indeed the biggest tool used in starting the Passion Ministries. He had connections with several college campus ministries across the U.S. and had the leaders announce it to their students. Passion '97 kicked off in Austin, Texas with fifteen or sixteen campus ministry groups in attendance, amounting to over 2,000 students and leaders. The conference consisted of four days of worship music and messages delivered by Louie himself. Without any marketing or PR, Passion '98 increased to a 5,000 student attendance.
Lou had previous connections with now-renowned worship leaders/Christian music artists such as Chris Tomlin, David Crowder and Matt Redman. Their musical influences upon the Passion Conferences have shaped the worship aspect the conferences are now known for. Lou knew Tomlin when he was a young college student, one who hadn't yet written any famous songs. But Lou saw in him a heart desiring to help lead Christians in congregational worship. David Crowder had been a student at Baylor University and had attended Lou's Bible study for several years.
Louie Giglio is the author of several books, such as Wired: For A Life of Worship (2006) and I Am Not But I Know I Am: Welcome to the Story of God. (2005) He also boasts a line of DVDs in which he is featured, including "How Great Is Our God" (named after the Chris Tomlin song of the same name), "Alive", "Life Interrupted", "Canvas" and many more. You can find out more about him and the Passion World Tour at www.268generation.com
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